I'm mystified every time some group argues against a development because it will create "more congestion."

What sort of perfect, precarious balance are these folks seeking in life, I wonder. Is there a world wherein you get great shopping, great restaurants, great atmosphere where cars whiz by uninterrupted, parking is everywhere AND people can walk around unimpeded and safely?

Maybe such a place exists. It sounds like a fleeting place to me.

Preston Center might have had its moment as such as place (although I'm a little dubious about the walking piece).

It's a great area. It's a wealthy area. Such areas tend to attract people with money, who in turn tend to attract people who want to build things.

So Crow Holdings wants to take advantage of that. I would too if I owned land at Preston and Northwest Highway.

The plan is to build a large grocery store at Preston Center. The company wants to link that development to a parking garage over Westchester Drive.

The bridge needs a permit that the city plan commission will vote on next week.

Most of us aren't great fans of sky bridges. They are band-aids, sure. But they can also help open an area up to people and help us move from a car-centered area to something better for pedestrians.

I wish it was a surprise that there is opposition to this. A certain set in this neighborhood would like it cast in amber and kept forever thus despite the fact that Dallas needs to capitalize on growth areas like this.

The complaint is that this plan will bring congestion.

Congestion is no fun. It causes lots of problems. It also tends to be a signal of economic health in cases like this. It also is an inevitable element of a maturing, growing city.

We can argue about the best way to handle congestion. My own hope it that it will lead us to embrace multiple forms of transportation and reduce our dependence on cars.

You might recall that a company called Transwestern wanted to build a high-rise on the site. I favored the plan on the grounds that this is the right area for increased density. It is close to the core at the intersection of two 6-lane roads.

Sadly, some of the same people who oppose the sky bridge, including former mayor Laura Miller, were able to get this project killed.

We have to keep in mind what's at stake. If we turn back good development in areas like this, we are that much less likely to build the tax base in ways that can help us improve all of Dallas. Our city can grow, and can grow in a responsible way, if we let it. Playing NIMBY in wealthy areas is a mistake - as much a mistake as squandering opportunities by putting warehouse stores in areas where mixed-use development belongs.

I hope the plan commission and the council will see that a new grocery store, an improved parking garage, and, yes, a sky bridge, are better than what's in the area now.